Fort Hays State University's Office of Student Affairs, in cooperation with The American Democracy Project, the College of Business and Leadership and the Political Science Department, is in the final phases of a campus-wide voter registration and education initiative.

" This effort strives to give every FHSU student the opportunities and tools they need to make an informed vote this November," said Dr. Diane Scott, assistant vice president for student affairs.

The initiative consists of:

-- a series of surveys addressed to students through their e-mail accounts. The online surveys are conducted via a Web link in the e-mail.

-- an educational event and a voter registration and education drive. Students are introduced to Web-based software and answer political questions. The software then informs the user which candidate/party/issue is most similar to their answers.

-- a vote slam. Students will hear live music from Slicker This Year and use an open microphone to speak their views on candidates and political issues. The event is free and open to the public.

The voter registration and education drive is from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 13 in McCartney Hall. Following that event, the vote slam will take place from 9 p.m. to midnight at the Bijou, 507 W. Seventh St.

" We keep seeing all this information about how students don't vote and how many young people aren't even registered. We want to give every FHSU student a chance to get involved," said Kelley Kuhlmann, assistant director of the Office of Civic Engagement.